Asus X501a-spd0503w 4gb 500gb Intel Pentium 2.4ghz 4.6 Pounds

I began looking for a compromise, and inexpensive, laptop when I realized my Toshiba netbook was just TOO slow and the screen to tiny for my 50+ year old eyes. Barely tolerable when casually browsing or checking email, it struggled through even Plants vs. Zombies. While I have a Gateway gaming laptop, it is 5 years old and weighs like 13 pounds. I wanted something light but still able to do casual gaming. I figured a 3rd gen Intel i3 and a 15 inch screen was the bare minimum I would settle for. After building a comparison spreadsheet of Best Buy available models, the Asus I began looking for a compromise, and inexpensive, laptop when I realized my Toshiba netbook was just TOO slow and the screen to tiny for my 50+ year old eyes. Barely tolerable when casually browsing or checking email, it struggled through even Plants vs. Zombies. While I have a Gateway gaming laptop, it is 5 years old and weighs like 13 pounds. I wanted something light but still able to do casual gaming. I figured a 3rd gen Intel i3 and a 15 inch screen was the bare minimum I would settle for. After building a comparison spreadsheet of Best Buy available models, the Asus X501A-SPD0503W came out on top. It was very close as it's specs were neck and neck with the Toshiba C855-S5111. Unable to decide, I went with the Asus as it was only 4.5 pounds with battery installed (verified with a kitchen scale).versus the Toshiba's 5.4 pounds. Aside from dealing with Windows 8, the Asus is just what I wanted. Bloatware is minimal and what is there stays out of my way.

Performance wise, here's how it compares with my other laptop on the Unigine Heaven Benchmark tool.

Gateway FX-6160 ($1300 5 years ago); Windows Vista (build 6002, Service Pack 2) 64bit; Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T9300 @ 2.50GHz; NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTS

FPS: 14.1

Score: 355

Min FPS: 6.2

Max FPS: 26.0

Asus X501A $369; Win 8; Intel Core i3-3120M @ 2.50 GHz; Intel HD graphics 4000.

FPS: 9.3

Score: 235

Min FPS: 5.0

Max FPS: 20.6

That might not seem very good, but the Heaven benchmark is a demanding tool. Playing a casual game like PanzerCorps (reboot of the Panzer General series from the 90's) shows no slowdown or other deficiencies. The main point is how close it comes to matching the Core2Duo from just a few years ago

I wanted an light, inexpensive computer for air travel vacations, with a larger screen than most ultrabooks. This machine worked OK out of the box, no problems.

Pros: Very quiet fan, light weight for its screen size (no DVD drive helps), inexpensive, looks good. Trackpad surface is excellent (many trackpads are too slick or too rough for comfort).

Cons: Only 2 USB ports (1 is 3.0), mediocre keyboard.

I'm very pleased with this machine so far. Windows 8 works much better after installing free Classic Shell program to avoid pointless "Metro" start screen. It's not ideal for playing Far Cry 3 or writing thousands of words a day, but I have other machines for more demanding tasks. After replacing the hard drive with a basic SSD (required partial disassembly) this machine is very responsive and more than fast enough for my travel needs.

Buy Asus X501a-spd0503w 4gb 500gb Intel Pentium 2.4ghz 4.6 Pounds Now